US President Barack Obama’s administration on Friday released a legislative proposal intended to provide foreign governments with a streamlined process for asking US tech companies to share e-mail data and conduct wiretaps for criminal investigations.
The framework comes one day after a US federal appeals court said the government could not compel Microsoft to turn over customer e-mails stored on servers outside the US.
The proposal would require the US Congress to change decades-old electronic communications law. It would also require the consent of any foreign government because it is designed to be reciprocal.
Britain is the first country the US is seeking to enter into such a bilateral agreement with.
A technology industry group said it was encouraged by the talks between the US and Britain.
“A strengthened legal framework must value privacy and human rights while ensuring law enforcement can do its important work,” tech industry advocacy group Reform Government Surveillance said in a statement.
Current agreements used to allow law enforcement access to data stored overseas are known as mutual legal assistance treaties.
However, such treaties — which involve making a formal diplomatic request for data and having authorities in the host country obtain a warrant on behalf of the requesting nation — are considered overly cumbersome by law enforcement officials who say the process often takes several months.
“The current situation is unsustainable,” US Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik wrote to US Vice President Joe Biden in a letter proposing the new framework. “If foreign governments cannot access data they need for legitimate law enforcement, including terrorism investigations, they may also enact laws requiring companies to store data in their territory.”
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